Disc brake

ABSTRACT

An improved disc brake is of the type which includes a disc mounted for rotation about an axle. An axle housing is mounted on the axle in alignment with a friction surface of the disc. An axially movable braking piston has an interior end at least partially mounted within the housing and an external end outwardly of the housing adjacent the friction surface of the disc. The braking piston has a plurality of axially extending splines about an exterior surface of the interior end to mate with corresponding splines on an interior surface of the housing to limit rotation of the braking piston relative to the housing. The brake is actuated by the piston being axially moved toward and away from the friction surface of the disc. Lubricant can be supplied and periodically resupplied to an interior of the housing. The improvement includes providing the housing with a cylindrical recess at the end thereof adjacent the disc for receipt of a sealing ring made of resiliently compressible material. The sealing ring has an outer peripheral edge to make contact with the cylindrical wall of the cylindrical cavity and an interior edge including a plurality of teeth which are compressed to be received in and make sealing contact with the plurality of axially extending splines of the braking piston.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates to an improved disc brake and, more specifically,to a sealing means which is provided between the brake housing and anaxially movable braking piston to prevent a loss of lubricant from aninterior of the housing.

2. Description of the Prior Art

One type of disc brake which is well known in the automotive fieldutilizes a rotating disc or rotor which is mounted for rotation with awheel. The brake includes a caliper assembly which is mounted on theaxle with an extended, outboard portion which overlies the outboard sideof the disc and a piston which is aligned with the inboard side of thedisc. Axial movement of the piston causes the disc to be entrappedtherebetween to produce a frictional force thereon intending to preventrotation of the disc and wheel.

Two such disc brakes are disclosed in U.S. Ser. No. 484,025, filed onApril 11, 1983 by Donald J. Davidson and entitled "Slack Adjustor for aDisc Brake", now U.S. Pat. No. 4,478,316 and U.S. Ser. No. 484,026,filed on April 11, 1983 by David D. Sheill and entitled "Slack Adjustorfor a Disc Brake", now U.S. Pat. No. 4,478,317. These brakes utilize anon-rotatable braking piston which is mounted in a housing of the brakefor axial movement toward and away from the friction surface of thedisc. Brake actuation means is mounted on the housing. A powershaft ismounted within the housing, is coaxially aligned with the piston and iscapable of selective rotation by the brake actuation means. Thepowershaft has worm gear teeth thereon engaged with a powershaft nutwithin the housing which powershaft nut is prevented from rotating andis capable of axial movement directly corresponding to the selectiverotation of the powershaft. The powershaft nut is operably connected tothe piston to produce the axial movement thereof toward and away fromthe friction surface of the disc.

While these two prior art brakes utilize slack adjusters which arewithin the interior of the housing, the utilization of such a powershaftnut has been found to add to the overall length of the brake.Accordingly, even though there are other similar brakes which utilizeslack adjusters external of the housing, there remains a need forproviding such a brake which has a minimum overall length whileeliminating as many elements as possible which would tend tounnecessarily add to the overall length of the housing of the brake.Nevertheless, any attempt to alter such a brake should include reliablemeans for preventing the entrance of undesired contaminants into theinterior of the housing, means for insuring that lubricant will beproperly retained within the housing, and any other features which willinsure that the brake will be capable of effectively operatingthroughout the expected life thereof.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved disc brakewhich includes means for insuring lubricant will be effectively retainedwithin an interior of the housing thereof.

These and other objects of the invention are provided in a preferredembodiment thereof including a disc brake of the type which includes adisc mounted for rotation about an axle. A brake housing is mounted onthe axle in alignment with a friction surface of the disc. An axiallymovable braking piston has an interior end at least partially mountedwithin the housing and an external end outwardly of the housing adjacentthe friction surface of the disc. The braking piston has a plurality ofaxially extending splines about an exterior surface of the interior endto mate with corresponding splines on an interior surface of the housingto limit rotation of the braking piston relative to the housing. Brakeactuation means is mounted on the housing. A powershaft is mountedwithin the housing in coaxial alignment with the braking piston and iscapable of selective rotation by the brake actuation means. Thepowershaft has worm gear teeth thereon engaged with mating teeth on theinterior end of the braking piston to produce axial movement of thebraking piston toward and away from the friction srface of the discdirectly corresponding to the selective rotation of the powershaft.There is included means for supplying and periodically resupplyinglubricant to the interior of the housing. The improvement includessealing means between the housing and the interior end of the brakingpiston to prevent loss of the lubricant from the interior of thehousing. The housing has a cylindrical recess in an end thereof adjacentthe disc with the recess having an interior cylindrical wall and a baseincluding a radially extending annular surface. The sealing meansincludes a sealing ring made of resiliently compressible material andinstalled within the cylindrical recess. The sealing ring has an outerperipheral edge making contact with the cylindrical wall of thecylindrical recess and an interior edge including a plurality of teethwhich are compressed to be received in and make sealing contact with theplurality of axially extending splines about the exterior surface of theinterior end of the braking piston. There is included means forretaining the sealing ring within the cylindrical recess.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary, elevational view, partially in section, of thepreferred caliper brake assembly including various features of theinvention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary, sectional view of the interior of the brakeassembly shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view as seen along line 3--3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a view of the preferred braking piston sealing element asgenerally seen along line 4--4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a view as seen along line 5--5 of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As seen in FIG. 1, a preferred caliper disc brake 10 utilizes a disc orrotor 12 which is rigidly mounted on a wheel 14 or the like. The wheel14 is mounted for rotation about an axle 16 which could be a traileraxle or a drive axle for a truck or tractor. The caliper brake 10includes an extended portion 18 and a non-rotating, axially movablebraking piston 20 which are respectively aligned with an outboardfriction surface 22 and an inboard friction surface 24 of the disc orrotor 12. Both the extended portion 18 and an external end 23 of themovable piston 20 respectively employ shoes and friction pads 26 and 28to produce frictional contact with the opposite sides of the disc 12.

Although only the piston 20 is intended to move within a housing 30 ofthe caliper brake 10, the method used to produce movement of the piston20 and to mount the brake 10 on the axle 16 insures that a braking forceis applied to the opposite sides of the disc 12. Specifically, thehousing 30 of the brake 10 is mounted on a torque plate 32 which isrigidly secured to the axle 16. The torque plate 32 supports a pair(only one shown in FIG. 1) of caliper slide pins 34 each of which isslidably supported at an intermediate portion thereof with its oppositeends extending axially therefrom. At each side of the the housing 30, apair of axially spaced supports 36 are provided co-axially aligned holestherethrough for rigidly securing the opposite ends of the caliper slidepin 34 therein. Accordingly, the entire housing 30 of the brake 10 iscapable of moving axially relative to the axle 16 and the disc 12.

To produce the axial movement of the brake piston 20, a preferred brakeactuation means includes an air chamber 38 which has an actuation rod 40extending therefrom. The air chamber 38 is rigidly mounted to thehousing 30 by a bracket 41 integrally formed with a housing end closure42 for movement with the housing 30. The actuation rod 40 is coupled toan actuation arm 44 so that inward and outward movement of the rod 40will produce rotating movement of the arm 44. The actuation arm 44 is ofthe type which includes a slack adjusting mechanism and is generallydisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,840 which is entitled "Cam BrakeAutomatic Slack Adjusting Mechanism" and issued on April 13, 1976.However, any number of actuating arms having similar slack adjusterscould be alternatively employed. The actuation arm 44 is secured to apowershaft 46 and it will be seen that rotation of the powershaft 46will produce corresponding axial movement of the piston 20.

Accordingly, as the brake 10 is being actuated, the actuation rod 40will produce rotating movement of the actuation arm 44 and outwardmovement of the piston 20 until the friction pad 28 thereon is broughtinto contact with the inboard surface 24 of disc 12. If the friction pad26 on the extended portion 18 is not in contact with the outboardsurface 22 of the disc 12, continued movement of piston 20 will causethe entire housing 30 to be moved axially on the caliper slide pins 34relative the torque plate 32 until both friction pads 26 and 28 apply acompressive force on the disc 12 to produce the desired braking frictionat both sides thereof. Although exaggerated for the purposes ofdemonstration, a normal, predetermined running clearance is desired toinsure that only minimal axial movement of the piston 20 is required toinsure that there is full braking force being applied to the disc 12.Obviously, as the usable material of the friction pads 26 and 28 beginsto wear away, there is a concern that the running clearance will beenlarged to a degree which will interfere with quick, reliable brakingoperation. Accordingly, the prior art slack adjusting means incorporatedwithin the actuation arm 44 will operate to relocate the arm 44 relativeto the powershaft 46 during the operational life of the brake 10.

As seen in FIG. 2, the powershaft 46 is mounted for rotation within thehousing 30 and is coaxially aligned with the piston 20. With theactuation arm 44 splined to the powershaft 46, it is capable of beingselectively rotated within the housing 30. Specifically, the powershaft46 is mounted within a hole 48 in the housing end closure 42 at abushing 50. The bushing 50 is preferably made of oil impregnated,powdered metal and is press fit into the hole 48. To prevent retractionof the powershaft 46 from the interior of the housing 30 duringoperation, a radially extending shoulder portion 52 is entrapped withinthe interior of the housing 30 against a thrust washer 54 which issupported by the housing end closure 42. Various details of thepreferred thrust washer 54 will be discussed hereinbelow. Additionally,to prevent undesired insertion of the powershaft 46 into the interior ofthe housing 30, a washer element 56 encircles the exterior end of thepowershaft 46 for contact against the exterior surface of the housingend closure 42 and is retained in position by a snap ring 58.

It will be seen that for proper operation of the preferred brake 10, itis desirable to mount the piston 20 for axial movement within thehousing 30 in a manner which will insure against significant rotationthereof while allowing axial movement toward and away from the disc 12.Specifically, the piston 20 has an interior end 60 which is provided aplurality of axially extending splines 64 about an exterior surface 62thereof. The splines 64 mate with corresponding splines 66 within aninterior surface of the housing 30 to limit rotation of the piston 20 sothat it will be capable of only axial movement when acted upon by thepowershaft 46. To convert the rotational movement of the powershaft 46to axial movement as required for applying the braking force to thepiston 20, worm gear teeth 68 on the powershaft 46 engage with matchinginternal teeth 70 of the interior end 60 of the piston 20. Accordingly,the piston 20 will move axially in direct correpondence to selectiverotation of the powershaft 46.

Although as described hereinabove, the preferred brake 10 will functionproperly to produce the desired frictional forces on the disc 12, thereare a number of features of the basic design which require additionalconsideration to insure proper operation of the brake. Specifically,because of the large forces generated within a brake of this type, thevarious contacting surfaces between the elements as describedhereinabove require proper lubrication in order to effectively operatethroughout the life of the brake 10. Accordingly, a grease fitting 72 isprovided to insure that grease or some other suitable lubricant can beperiodically resupplied to the interior of the housing 30 throughout thelife of the brake. Additionally, the piston 20 is designed to include anencircling, flexible boot seal 73 with a first end 74 secured to thehousing 30 and a second end 75 surrounding the interior end 60 of thepiston 20 to insure that undesirable contaminants will not enter theinterior of the housing 30 and interfere with the operation of thevarious elements therein.

Although at first glance it might appear that any spline design could beemployed, there should be some consideration given to the type ofsplines 64, 66 provided to insure that there will be effective andreliable movement of the piston 20 throughout operation of the brake 10.Specifically, the splines 64, 66 are preferably provided major diameterfit rather than a fit between the side walls of the splines. The choiceof a fit at the major diameter has been made in the preferred brake 10to insure that the piston 20 will not wobble within the housing 30although there would appear to be the possibility of some limitedrotation of the piston 20 when acted upon by the powershaft 46. If thetolerances were to be critically maintained at the major diameter andthe side walls, the resulting surface contact in both regions wouldunduly complicate installation of the internal end 60 of the piston 20into the housing 30. Accordingly, it is expected that, once installed,the piston 20 will move in an axial direction with little or nodeviation but with some limited rotation being possible and expectedduring braking operation.

It should be noted that the splines 64 are significantly longer than thesplines 66. The splines 64 on the interior end 60 of the piston 20 areaxially longer than the splines 66 to allow for the expectedrepositioning of the piston 20 which occurs during the life of thefriction pads 26, 28 as the piston 20 is adjusted by the slack adjustermentioned hereinabove. Accordingly, although there has heretofore beenreference made to the interior end 60 of the piston 20, it should beunderstood that the interior end 60 will only partially be within theinterior of the housing 30 and will extend further from within thehousing 30 as the friction pads 26 and 28 become worn. However, sinceone objective of the preferred brake design is to limit the overalllength of the brake 10, such extensive splines 64 have produced aproblem in the manufacture of the piston 20. Clearly, if one were notconcerned with the overall length of the brake 10, sufficient spacecould be provided at the terminal end of the splines 64 toward the disc12 to insure sufficient axial space between the ends of the splines 64and the second end 75 of the boot seal 73. However, in order to reducethe overall length of the piston 20, it is desirable to have the splines62 extend as close as possible to the boot seal 73. As a result, it hasbeen found that any attempt to provide the splines 64 through hobbingwould add a non-usable portion to the terminal end of the splines 64which would extend into the region where the boot seal 73 encircles thepiston 20. To eliminate this problem, the preferred piston 20 isinitially formed to include a circumferential groove 76 having a firstradial wall 78 at the designed location of the terminal end of thesplines 64 toward the disc 12 and a second radial wall 80 axiallyseparated from the first radial wall 78. Providing such acircumferentail groove 76 allows the splines 64 to be formed by shapingsince there is accordingly provided a circumferential region for metalrelief as the shaping tool completes each path during formation of thesplines 64. However, in order to provide a proper channel 82 for receiptof the second end 75 of the boot seal 73, a ring element 84 is mountedin the circumferential groove 76 and has a first side 86 which isagainst the first radial wall 78 and a second side 88 separated from thesecond radial wall 80 to define the circumferential channel 82therebetween.

As seen in FIG. 3, the preferred ring element 84 is made of a hard,resilient plastic material and includes a radial slot 92 to allow itsexpansion over the splines 64 for axial movement therealong until it isinstalled within the circumferential groove 76. Additionally, theperipheral edge 94 is dimentioned to extend radially beyond the splines64 to add further protection to the boot seal 73 during operation of thepiston 20. It should be noted, of course, that the piston 20 will extendsignificantly to the left from the position as shown in FIG. 2 duringthe continued wear of the friction pad 26, 28 and extension of the bootseal 73 would increase the likelihood of damage thereto by the splines64.

To complete the mounting of the boot seal 73 between the housing 30 andthe piston 20, the first end 74 of the boot seal 73 is provided anembedded metal portion 96 which is press fitted within a cylindricalrecess 98 of the housing 30 against an interior cylindrical wall 100thereof. As thus mounted, the boot seal 73 will prevent the entrance ofundesired contaminants into the interior of the housing 30.

However, as mentioned hereinabove, it is intended that the interior ofthe housing 30 will be provided a suitable lubricant to insure properoperation of the brake. As a result, there is concern that the periodicresupply of lubricant under pressure at the grease fitting 72 couldcause the lubricant to apply significant pressure directly to the bootseal 73 to cause it to be disengaged or dislodged from either the piston20 or the housing 30. Accordingly, the preferred brake 10 includeslubricant sealing means 102 which is intended to prevent the lubricantfrom escaping through the splines 64, 66 and to the boot seal 73.

To provide the preferred lubricant sealing means 102, the cylindricalrecess 98 is provided a base including a radially extending annularsurface 108. A sealing ring 110 is primarily made of a resilientlycompressible material such as nitrile rubber and is installed within thecylindrical recess 98. The sealing ring 110, as seen in FIG. 4, has anouter peripheral edge 112 to make contact with the cylindrical wall 100and an interior edge 114 including the plurality of teeth 116 which arecompressed to be received and make sealing contact with the plurality ofaxially extending splines 64 of the exterior surface 62 of the interiorend 60 of the braking piston 20. As shown in FIG. 4, the sealing ring110 is in a non-compressed condition and the size of the teeth 116 aretherefor larger than the corresponding dimensions of the spline 64 onwhich they are to be received.

To insure the sealing ring 110 will be retained within the cylindricalrecess 98 throughout operation of the brake, the metal portion 96 of theboot seal 73 is installed, as mentioned hereinabove, to preventretraction of the sealing ring 110. To add rigidity to the sealing ring110, and to insure that the teeth 116 will remain in contact with thespline 64 throughout operation of the brake, the sealing ring 110 isprovided a radially extending annular metal insert 118 at a side thereofagainst the annular surface 108 to add rigidity thereto and insure firmcontact of the sealing ring 110 with the annular surface 108.

With the sealing ring 110 so installed, lubricant provided at thefitting 72 will be incapable of escaping from the interior of thehousing 30 at the end thereof toward the disc 12. However, lubricantwill be capable of escaping from the other end of the housing so thatone adding lubricant will be able to determine when a sufficientquantity has been added to the interior of the housing 30. Specifically,the lubricant will be capable of passing by the thrust washer 54 andthrough a plurality of axial grooves 120 formed in the interior surfaceof the bushing 50. In the preferred brake 10, six such axial grooves 120are provided. Escaping lubricant will then pass by the end seal 122around the powershaft 46 and will eventually be visible at the washerelement 56 retaining the powershaft 46 from insertion thereof into thehousing 30.

As thus described, one might think that any type of thrust washer 54would be adequate for accommodating the thrust forces created on thepowershaft 46 at the radially extending shoulder portion 52. However, ithas been found that a preferred thrust washer 54 would be made of steelbut would be provided a form of polytetrafluoroethylene at the surfacethereof adjacent the shoulder portion 52.

Although polytetrafluoroethylene has a low coefficient of friction athigh contact pressures, it has been found at low contact pressure toexhibit a relatively high coefficient of friction. Therefore, when thebrake is first being applied and only minor rotation exists between thepowershaft 46 and the housing end closure 42, minor rotation of thethrust washer 54 relative to the end closure 42 could be expected. Ifthe thrust washer 54 were allowed to rotate in this manner, undesirableand unacceptable wear of the steel at the surface thereof adjacent theend closure 42 would be expected. Accordingly, the preferred thrustwasher 52 is provided an upset portion 124, as seen in FIG. 2 and FIG.5, which is to be received within a radially extending recess 126 in theinterior surface of the end closure 42. With the upset portion 124positioned within the recess 126 in ths manner, the thrust washer 54will be prevented from any rotation which would produce excessivewearing of the steel and interfere with its effective operationthroughout the use of the brake 10.

It should be clear to those skilled in the brake art that any number ofalterations may be made to the preferred brake 10 while still fallingwithin the scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:
 1. An improved disc brake of the type which includes a discmounted for rotation about an axle, a brake housing mounted on said axlein alignment with a friction surface of said disc, an axially movablebraking piston having an interior end at least partially mounted withinsaid housing and an external end outwardly of said housing adjacent saidfriction surface of said disc, said braking piston having a plurality ofaxially extending splines about an exterior surface of said interior endto mate with correponding splines on an interior surface of said housingto limit rotation of said braking piston relative to said housing, brakeactuation means mounted on said housing, a powershaft mounted withinsaid housing in coaxial alignment with said braking piston and capableof selective rotation by said brake actuation means, said powershafthaving worm gear teeth thereon engaged with mating teeth on saidinterior end of said braking piston to produce axial movement of saidbraking piston toward and away from said friction surface of said discdirectly corresponding to said selective rotation of said powershaft,and means for supplying and periodically resupplying lubricant to aninterior of said housing, said improvement comprising:sealing meansbetween said housing and said interior end of said braking piston toprevent loss of said lubricant from said interior of said housing; saidhousing having a cylindrical recess in an end thereof adjacent saiddisc, said cylindrical recess having an interior cylindrical wall and abase including a radially extending annular surface; said sealing meansincluding a sealing ring made of resiliently compressible material andinstalled within said cylindrical cavity; said sealing ring having anouter peripheral edge making contact with said cylindrical wall of saidcylindrical cavity and an interior edge including a plurality of teethwhich are compressed to be received in and make sealing contact withsaid plurality of axially extending splines about said exterior surfaceof said interior end of said braking piston; and means for retainingsaid sealing ring within said cylindrical cavity.
 2. The improved discbrake as set forth in claim 1, wherein said means for retaining saidsealing ring within said cylindrical cavity includes a flexible bootseal surrounding said interior end of said braking piston and having afirst end sealingly secured to said housing and a second end extendinginto a channel around said interior end of said braking piston forsealing contact therewith, said first end of said boot seal including ametal annular insert which is press fit into said cylindrical cavityagainst said cylindrical wall thereof for making sealing contact withsaid housing, and said first end preventing axial withdrawal of saidsealing ring from said cylindrical cavity.
 3. The improved disc brake asset forth in claim 1, wherein said sealing ring includes a radiallyextending annular metal insert at a side thereof against said annularsurface to add rigidity thereto and insure firm contact of said sealingring with said annular surface.
 4. The improved brake as set forth inclaim 1, wherein said resiliently compressible material is nitrilerubber.